Username: 
Password:    
Remember Me

Search by :  Username E-mail Region Interest AOL IM ICQ Number Yahoo! ID MSN Username Jabber

The Hellion (collateralshot) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2018-06-18 15:38:00

Who: Dan and Liv
What: Post Jail Talk
When: May 14th
Where: Liv's apartment
Rating/Warnings Lowish
Status: Complete!



Yes, Dan understood that whatever brain Liv consumed influenced how she acted and what she might do and that she had little -- if any -- control over it. So he tried to be understanding and for the most part he was. Even when she was essentially stalking him while she was on the brain of a jealous lover. He told himself again and again that it wasn’t Liv, it was the brain making her act that way. So he was able to take everything in stride. Mostly. However, after spending a weekend in jail over a ring Liv had attempted to steal while on a shoplifting brain, Dan was finding it harder than usual to be The Understanding Boyfriend. He wanted to be. He really did, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to.

This was why after Leon sprang him from Jail and risked his own career to destroy the police report that had put him there, Dan did not attempt to go see Liv. He was afraid of what he may say to her. Plus, she was likely at work and the last thing he wanted was to bother her and potentially say something he’d regret while she was on the clock.

Dan went home, had a shower (which he was long overdue for) and changed his clothes. Then he indulged in a little evidence tampering of his own. Leon was good enough to stick his neck out for him, the least Dan could do was ensure that there was nothing that would put either Leon in danger of losing his career or Liv in a jail cell herself. Once that was completed, Dan felt a little more in control of himself to see Liv.

It was true that Liv barely had any control over how the brains affecter her personality, and even her actions. But that was no excuse. She had gotten her boyfriend, the man she loved more than anything, put in jail for two days. It was too much. Liv knew she needed to stop. Needed to change. So she finally ate one of the brain tubes she had received from her dreams. It didn’t taste very good, but at least it there were no side effects. No visions. No personality changes. Liv was herself again.

She wanted to go see Dan. Needed to see him. But she couldn’t. She didn’t know how to even put into words how bad she felt. She didn’t know what to say or do. But most importantly she was scared. Terrified even. Scared that Dan wouldn’t want to see her. That he hated her. Which really, she couldn’t blame him for. But she also couldn’t bare to face that just yet.

Liv had gone from the morgue to home. She had just finished feeding the Hopes when she heard the knock at her door. Liv had a sinking feeling of who was on the other side. This was it, he was coming to end things. Liv took a deep breath and opened the door. Dan was indeed on the other side.

Here we go.

“Dan,” she said opening the door wide enough to let him in. “Hi.”

“Hi, darlin’,” he answered. He didn’t step inside right away. He wasn’t angry with her anymore, though seeing her for the first time since his arrest did trudge up a few of those lingering feelings of annoyance, both with her and with the situation as a whole. Did she have any idea what the past weekend had been like for him? Of the kind of decision he’d had to make? Nevermind the position she had put Leon in by asking him to help. It was hard to tell with the monosyllabic greeting he received, and the fact she didn’t seem to be able to look directly at him.

“We need to talk,” he said. He was careful of his tone, keeping it as even as possible.

He called her darling, which was a good sign. But then she followed it up with needing to talk. That was almost always a bad sign. He was going to break up with her. She knew it. And she couldn’t blame him for it either. She had gotten him arrested after all.

Liv swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. “Okay,” Liv replied. “Do you want to come in?” Of course she noticed that he had yet to make an attempt to step inside her apartment. But she really didn’t want to have this conversation in her doorway.

“Aye.” Dan nodded before stepping inside. He waited for her to close the door behind her before he started. “Liv, I love you and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you, but…” he took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t say that I was really thrilled ‘bout spendin’ a weekend in jail. It was embaressin’.” He took another breath, “do you know how I got out?”

Of course he wasn’t thrilled about spending the weekend in jail. Liv wasn’t thrilled about it either. She was wracked with guilt. “I know,” Liv said softly. “I should have been the one in jail. I broke the law. Not you.” They had been over this before, when Liv had killed the man that tried to kill Dan. If she was deprived of brains for too long she would lose it. Become a full on zombie forever. There would be no bringing her back. But that didn’t matter. It was worth the risk. Dan didn’t deserve what had happened to him. She did.

“Leon.” While she didn’t know exactly what Leon had done, she knew it involved him risking his career and a felony. All for her stupid action that she should be able to control.

Dan grunted. “I wasn’t about to letcha rot in jail, Liv.” He said. “I made the decision to take the blame.” He debated telling her Leon had literally broken him out of jail, but ultimately decided not to. At least for now. “The problem isn’t which one of us took the blame, Liv. The problem is that one of us woulda had to in the first place.” He glanced towards the living room and nodded his head at the couch. “Come sit with me a moment.”

Liv noded walking over to the couch with Dan and took a seat. “I know,” she replied burying her head in her hands. “I know I shouldn’t have done it!” Not that she had even realized what she was doing, but there was no excuse for that. “I know this is all my fault. I don’t blame you for wanting to break up with me.” She blinked back the tears that formed in her eyes. Granted Dan hadn’t said he was breaking up with her. But of course he was. Who would want to date someone that changed personalities on a monthly basis? That had trouble controlling her own actions?

Dan grunted again. The assumption that he was going to break up with her was a little insulting, actually. However, he bit his tongue. Instead, he gave a tired sigh and shook his head. “I didn’t say I wanted to break up with you, Darlin’,” he said. “And I don’t want to either. Don’t assume that because I’m not happy with you that I instantly want to end things.” He made a gesture with his hand, “Have a little more faith in me than that, aye? I’m not gonna end everything over something like this.”

He reached out for her hand so that she would have to look up at him. “I still love you. If I didn’t I wouldn’tve done what I did. We’re in this together, remember? That’s why we need to talk about this so it doesn’t happen again and neither of us end up in jail.” Or worse. Dan would be lying if the question of what would happen should Liv eat a brain that made her do something even worse than simply shoplifting a ring.

“It’s not like ye can simply stop eatin’ brains.” He went on. “So we need to figure out what we can do to avoid things like this in the future. We’re in this together, so we’ll figure it out together.” He brushed the tears from her cheeks. “So none o’ that cryin’ now.”

Getting your boyfriend arrested seemed like a pretty good reason to get broken up with. No matter how much Dan loved her, that was unforgivable. At least Liv thought so. It was a whole other level compared to the usual personality changes. The fact that Dan wasn’t completely pissed off, and still wanted to be with her? It was just further proof of what an amazing boyfriend he was, and how much he loved her. Despite everything that was going on, Liv’s heart felt warm.

“I love you too,” Liv said attempting a small smile. As far as eating brains? “I know,” she replied softly. “I got these things from my dreams. Like tubes of mixed up brains. No visions or personality changes.” She didn’t mention that they also tasted horrible. Dam didn’t need to know that part. “Once I run out I can like make my own I guess,” she frowned at the thought. Yes it meant no more personality changes. But the visions? Helping to solve a murder? It was the only thing that made her feel better about being a zombie.

“Brain tubes?” Dan raised a brow. There was something about the way that sounded that made Dan feel uncomfortable. If she got them from her Dreams, there was no reason why she shouldn’t eat them. But when she ran out? “How big are they?” He asked. “How long would it take to make your own?” Did Orange County really turn out that many bodies that Liv could just mix up her own batch when she needed them? Dan wasn’t so sure.

“Yeah,” Liv replied getting up from the couch and walking over to her freezer. She pulled out one of the tubes so Dan could see. It was about the size of a go-gurt, only all white no brand name, and full of brains. She brought it over to show Dan before sitting back on the couch. Because every guy wanted to see the tube full of brains their girlfriend ate. “I don’t know. I’d probably need to mix up like at least five brains.” She really had no idea how many brains were required but five seemed like a good place to start.

Dan took a look at the tube. It didn’t seem like a lot. He knew Liv parsed out her brains over a few weeks time. But this seemed so small. Could she really live off of these forever? He frowned slightly. “I dunno, Darlin,” he said. “Something about this doesn’t seem right to me.” He looked up at her. “Can you really live offa these? Would you even get enough brains to make one o’ these tubes?”

“Zombies in my dreams do it all the time,” Liv replied. There was no reason to believe she couldn’t do it here. “I think so,” she added in regards to being able to make them on her own. People died every day. While they might not all end up in her morgue it didn’t mean she couldn’t find a way to collect enough to make some tubes. “It beats my personality changing all the time, right?” Part of her was hoping he would say it was wrong. That as much of an inconvenience the personality changes were she did good with the brains too. She helped get the victims some justice. But after everything Dan had just gone through because of her, she wouldn’t blame him if he agreed. And if he agreed? Well then she would find a way to live off brain tubes. For him.

Dan looked intensely thoughtful for a moment. It seemed like a perfectly reasonable solution for the entire situation. Neither one of them would have to worry about what the next brain would do, or how it would change Liv. Dan was still concerned that one day she may eat the brain of something -- or someone -- dangerous. A gangster. A drug addict. Someone with some sort of severe derangement. Brain tubes would put an end to those worries. Liv could be herself again. The question was, would she be? There was still something about it (unappetizing name aside) that didn’t seem right to Dan.

He looked at her carefully. She didn’t seem to be excited about the idea. That was probably what unsettled Dan so much. “Is that what you wanna do, darlin’?” He asked.

“I don’t know,” Liv replied honestly. “It would mean no more doing things that I wouldn’t normally do. Stalking you, stealing, getting you arrested.” That all sounded good to her. Enough of a reason to put up with the mushed together brains. “But what good am is eating brains if I can’t at least use them to help get justice?”

There it was. Like a ringing bell, Dan realized what it was about the brain tubes that seemed wrong. His frown darkened a little. He knew how much it meant for Liv to be able to bring justice to those who found themselves on her table and for those who brains she ate in order to survive. Taking that away from her would have been cruel.

“Aye, it’s an idea,” he said slowly. “An’ one we can keep in mind. But maybe there’s another way, aye?” He looked thoughtful a moment. “D’ye know the people whose brains ye eat?” He asked. “If ye do, you can tell me, give me kinda an idea of what might happen so we can both be prepared.”

“Not until after I eat them,” Liv replied honestly. “And even then it’s hard to tell exactly what the change is right away. I don’t even fully realize it for like a day. I’m doing all these things that aren’t me, but it feels like they are. It takes me awhile to realize what I’m doing is out of character.” She wasn’t exactly sure how to explain it. Hopefully Dan understood her enough to know what she meant. Which he really seemed to. He knew her better than anyone.

That did make sense in a weird sort of way. Dan shook his head. “Well, we’re not gonna do anything that takes yer visions away. That doesn’t seem fair. How ‘bout this. When ye eat a new brain, tell me. Then I’ll watch fer any new little ticks ye get. That way at least I’ll know to look for’em and tell you. An’ then we kin figure out what to do about the new traits, if anythin’.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully, “just promise me if you get any impulses t’ do anything illegal next time we’re out, ye tell me.”

Liv let out a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. She couldn’t help but feel relieved that Dan was okay with her eating pure brains. Not to mention how much it meant to know that he truly got her. Understood why she put herself through all this. She had to. It was the only way she could live with what she was.

Telling him whenever she switched brains did seem like a pretty good idea. She wasn’t sure why she hadn’t thought of it before. It was definitely something she could do. The impulse thing though. Sometimes she didn’t realize until it was too late. She couldn’t always control her brain impulses right away. But she would do her best to always tell Dan. “I promise,” she finally replied a smile forming on her face. And then she did what she had been dying to do for days. Since the last time she saw Dan. She leaned in and placed a tender kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” she said letting her forehead rest against his when their lips parted.

Dan smiled against Liv’s lips. He would do anything for her. Anything at all. He was sure that they could work this out. So long as Liv told him when she was eating a new brain, he would just have to be vigilant to figure out what new traits she’d inherited. He knew it wasn’t going to be fool proof and it wasn’t going to be easy, but Dan had never opted for easy in his life.

“I love you,” he said and gave her another kiss. “We’ll get through this together. I promise.”